Christmas Decorating, North Woods-Style

When young homeowners bought a 1940s ranch house in a Minneapolis suburb, they decided the prior owners' all-white modern decor did not complement the living room's knotty pine walls and beamed, vaulted ceiling. So the house got a redo with paint, flooring and furnishings. Family heirlooms and collectibles create an elegant version of North Woods lodge decor. For the holidays, pinecones and magnolia sprigs tucked between the branches of a Christmas tree create a lush, full look.

The homeowner likes to go antiquing, scouring resale and antiques shops throughout the upper Midwest, gathering old paintings and prints, vintage silver pieces and picture frames, and brown and red transferware (dishes with intricate scenes printed from engravings). Pieces from her collection of silver and china create a layered tableau above the family room hearth. Rosemary trees and a bouquet of pheasant feathers fill vintage ice buckets and a silver trophy cup for easy, but elegant, decor.